Gold Logs New 7-Week Low, Silver Gains for Second Day

Silver futures advanced for a second day in a row even as gold fell for a seventh straight session

Gold futures extended their losing streak on Thursday to seven straight sessions, and closed at a fresh, more than seven-week low.

Gold for June delivery slipped $3.40, or 0.3%, to end at $1,220.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The settlement was the lowest since April 4 when the yellow metal ended at $1,219.30 an ounce.

"Price action earlier saw some short covering in the futures market and bargain hunters buying the dip in the cash market," Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., said in a report. "However, gold prices started eroding when crude oil prices backed down from their session highs."

Gold futures traded from a low of $1,220.10 to a high of $1,234.60. They are down 2.6% so far this week.

Higher for a second day in a row, silver for July delivery gained 8.2 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $16.343 an ounce. Silver prices ranged from $16.25 to $16.58. They are still 1.1% lower on the week.

In other precious metals futures on Thursday:

July platinum added $1, or 0.1%, to $995.80 an ounce, trading between $992.10 and $1,011.60.

Palladium for September delivery jumped $12.80, or 2.4%, to $543.65 an ounce, ranging from $531.60 to $547.

London Precious Metals Prices

In comparing earlier fixed London gold and silver prices from Wednesday PM to Thursday PM:

Gold added $3.25, or 0.3%, to $1,223.80 an ounce.

Silver added 25.5 cents, or 1.6%, to $16.46 an ounce.

LBMA platinum and palladium prices are available on the LBMA’s website with a delay of midnight.

US Mint Bullion Coin Sales in 2016

United States Mint bullion sales were unchanged Thursday as of 3:02 p.m. ET, according to the agency’s website. Below is a sales breakdown of U.S. Mint bullion products with columns listing the number of bullion coins sold during varying periods of time.